Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) provided its board a sneak peek of its long awaited mixed-reality headset last week, which led some to speculate the product could be unveiled as soon as this year. 

Apple has also reportedly accelerated the development of rOS, or reality operating system, the software that is expected to power the AR/VR device.

This info aligns with developments from February, in which Apple's developer community increased speculation about a new operating system after finding new references to "realityOS" in Apple's app store upload logs and open source code.

Related Link: What Is 'realityOS' And What Does It Mean For Apple Investors?

Why It Matters: Steve Kovach, a tech correspondent for CNBC who covers Apple, weighed in on the reports shortly after Bloomberg. 

"Just based on my knowledge of how Apple does these things, I would not be surprised if we see it come out this fall with the iPhone event and then go on sale actually about six months later, early in 2023," Kovach said Thursday afternoon on CNBC.

He noted that Apple declined to comment on the report, but he elaborated on the matter based on previous coverage, saying the company has hopes that its headset could one day replace the iPhone.

"Everyone asks, 'What's after the iPhone? What's after the iPhone?' This might be it," Kovach said. 

AAPL Price Action: Apple shares were down 2.38% at $137.47 late in Thursday's session, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Photo: frankieleon from Flickr.